The skills of pitching and catching a ball ordinarily require a considerable amount of practice to perfect. Where a number of players are practicing these skills together a pair may reciprocally throw the ball to each other so that each practices both skills. But if a single player needs to practice, he cannot practice catching a ball unless it is thrown at him by some means, and he cannot easily practice pitching since after each pitch the ball must be retrieved.
To ameliorate this difficulty, devices have been designed which are intended to return a ball thrown at them, back to the approximate vicinity from which the ball was thrown. Some of such pitchback devices are complex and therefore expensive. Others are simpler, having a resilient surface, typically netting, which merely bounces the ball back. A problem with these simpler devices is that the surface is seldom resilient enough to return the ball for a great distance. Another problem is that even such simple devices, being usable for only a single purpose, are inherently uneconomical, especially when a number of them are needed in an athletic program.
My invention solves these problems by providing a means to convert an ordinary small trampoline so that its resilient surface is used for a pitchback device. Such a surface has proven to be superior, in the pitchback mode, to many previous such surfaces currently in use. In addition, the trampoline may be converted easily back to its original use whenever desired, so that it becomes a multipurpose piece of equipment. Thus superior economy results, since the apparatus of my invention, which is used to effect the conversion, is extremely simple to construct and maintain. It is easy for even children to use. Moreover, the angle from the vertical of the resilient surface, and thus the pitchback angle, is easily adjusted.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new multi-purpose athletic device which may be used either as a trampoline or as a pitchback device.
A further object of my invention is to provide a means by which a trampoline may be converted into an effective pitchback device.
Yet another object of my invention is to provide a pitchback device in which the pitchback angle may be readily adjusted to create a variety of return flight trajectories.